Exam 3: Stereotype Threat & Reducing Prejudic

Question 1

Stereotype Threat (Definition)

Answer 1

Awareness of stereotype…

• Causes anxiety/fear about behaving in a way that confirms the stereotype
• Interferes with performance so that you end up confirming the stereotype

Question 2

Stereotype Threat (Results)

Answer 2

• Disidentification: distance self from an area of life that is threatening (helps reduce anxiety/fear and distress but also motivation)
• Affects everyone

Question 3

Stereotype Threat (Who?)

Answer 3

• Can happen to anyone

- Not a result of internalizing or endorsing the negative stereotypes, self-hate, low self-esteem or lack of confidence

Question 4

Stereotype Threat (When does it happen?)

Answer 4

-More you’re aware of the stereotype
-When you care about the domain
-When you believe that your real ability is being tested
Ex: stronger students are affected more than weaker students by stereotype threat about academics

Question 5

Stereotype Threat (How to reduce?)

Answer 5

• Provide counter stereotypes
• When you feel test is fair and not judged stereotypically
• Self-affirmation: affirming yourself in an unrelated way (reduces anxiety/fear)
• Minimize salience of group
• Attribute success to effort rather than ability

Question 6

How to Reduce Prejudice

Answer 6

Education?
-Not enough to just inform

Counter stereotypes?

• Fail to notice
• Discount situational attribution
• Make an exception for group of people (subtyping)

Other ways?

• Sanction by authority (necessary but not sufficient)
• Equal status contact (do teachers treat black and white students equally?)
• Mutual interdependence
• Pursuit of common goals (school systems foster competition instead)
• Multiple contacts with group members
• Social norms promote equality
• Friendly, informal setting for contact

Question 7

Jigsaw Experiment

Answer 7

• Goal: create interdependent learning environment
• 6 person learning group
• Each person has 1 segment of material to teach
• Need all people to learn all material

Results?

• Increased liking for group members
• Increased self-esteem
• Negative stereotypes diminished
• Minorities’ performance improved

Why did it work?

• Increased active participation
• Increased empathy (perspective taking)
• Helping each other increases positive affect
• Cooperation leads people to make similar attributions (FAE diminished)
• Outgroup became ingroup
• Equal status contact (everyone in same position so treated equally by everyone)

Question 8

Race (Stereotype Threat)

Answer 8

• Black and white athletes played a game of golf
• One half told the game measured “sport strategic intelligence”
• Other half told the game measured “natural athletic ability”

Results?

• Intelligence: W > B
• Physical ability: B > W

Why?
-Stereotype threats cause people to behave in a way that confirms the stereotype through anxiety/fear

Question 9

Gender (Stereotype Threat)

Answer 9

• Male and female undergrads with high math aptitude
• Exposed to stereotypical or counter stereotypical commercial of women
• Given math test afterwards

Results?

• Females who watched the stereotypical commercial = decreased performance
• Females who watched the counter stereotypical commercial = performed just as well as males

Question 10

Race & Gender (Stereotype Threat)

Answer 10

• Made asian identity salient = performance increased
• Made female identity salient = performance decreased
• No identity salient = normal performance

Why?

• Stereotype is that asians are good at math and females aren’t as good at math
• Stereotype threats cause people to behave in a way that confirms the stereotype through anxiety/fear